The Preseason - It's 'Bout That Time Again
- Thomas
- Jul 17, 2017
- 10 min read
“Pre-season football is like listening to a girl talk about her day... boring and pointless, but you’re desperate for some action.”
Hello, Folks.
It's the middle of July and we've almost made it. Just a week away from NFL training camp and all the fun that it brings.
Very excited to share this with you. We’re less than 1 month from preseason games and even closer to training camp so it’s time to gear up for the 2017 season. We’re going to break down the proposed rule changes, vote on them and most importantly UNVEIL THE 2017 LEAGUE SCHEDULE… to do so, I’m very happy to present to you the first ever broadcast of the Jimmy Parrot Foootnugget League Network. Check it out:
JPFL 2017 Schedule Release
Wow, wasn’t that exciting. Now that we finally have a league schedule to look forward to its time for something more serious. Like investigations in the cheating ways of the Patriots level serious. As a precursor to this, I’d like to also let you know that the league constitution is now live on our website. This essentially lays out all our rules in clear writing so that we will always have a reference and no one will be able to really claim they “didn’t know that was the case.” Since we’re placing real money on this, I figured it was important. Any of the font you see in red is a proposed rule change. Anything in orange is something we will choose between (but one of which will be added no matter what).
Proposed Rule/Structure Changes
Here are the proposed rule and structure changes for the 2017 JPFL Season (voting link at the end):
Please contact me if you need further explanation or clarification on any of these.
1. Points per INT thrown:
Change from -3 to -2.5
The move to -3 was one I was solid on back in the day. Ultimately the goal here is to replicate that throwing 2 INT to 1 TD shouldn’t net even because that’s not how football works. A 1 TD and 0 INT game is better than a 2 TD 2 INT, not equivalent. However, I am starting to agree that -3 points is a bit harsh when the 2.5 option will work just as well. Moving to -2.5 will help sustain the risk/reward value at the QB while being just slightly more lenient to days with bigger TD/INT numbers in proper ratio (essentially treating gun slinging mentalities more leniently).
2. Defensive Scoring:
2.1 INT stay at 2 pts, INT return for TD down from 6 to 4 pts
An interesting quirk for D/ST scoring is that Turnovers and then TD off those TOs count as different scores. So, an interception is simply 2 points but an interception returned for a TD = 2 points for INT + 6 points for the defensive TD so 8 points total. I’d like to change the scoring to adjust for this weird scoring equation so that returning the INT for a TD simply ups the scoring on the play to 6 for the D/ST. Considering how little they score already, I’m ok with leaving the scoring as is.
2.2 Forced Fumble up from 0 to 1 pt, Fumble Recovery down from 2pt to 1pt, Fumble recovered for TD down from 6 to 4 pts.
This is like the rule listed above, as the scoring is added individually. I’d like to award 1 point simply for forcing the fumble and then up to scoring total to 2 points if they recover the fumble (1 point for forcing the fumble + and additional 1 point for recovering it). Just like the INT issue stated above, I think it makes sense to drop the value of the TD itself down to 4 so the total points for the play come out to 6 rather than 8.
3. Offensive Player Fumbles:
Fumble up to -1 from 0 pts, Fumble Lost down to -2 from -3
Like the scoring changes above, I think you should be punished for putting the ball on the turf no matter what and then have that punishment compounded if you actually lose possession of the ball. This change would subtract one point from a player for simply fumbling the ball and then up that subtraction to -3 points if their team lost possession as a result.
4. League Buy In:
Increase from $15 to at least $20, preferably $30
Listen, I already know what a specific select few of you will say to this… OH, MY GOD, THAT’S SO MUCH MONEY. Counterpoint: it’s not. Last year we charged $15 to buy in and awarded our winner $100… We each put in 16+ weeks of work last season for this league. So, Brian earned $6.67 per week of involvement and we all paid $0.93 per week to play… That’s not entirely worth it for. I’d like to at least get the winning payout up to $200, but I'd settle for taking wittle itty bitty baby steps and holding your hands as we get there. A $20 buy in can let us reward the champion with $130-150, while $30 buy-ins would up that reward to $200. Additionally, upping our buy in would allow for some unique and more engaging payout structures such as offering a weekly stipend to the team with the highest score in that week. Either way, we’re all adults now and spending closer to $2/3 per week is something we can pretty much all afford. This shit will still cost less than Netflix, HBO, a hooker, or your weekend bar tab for Christ’s sake. If you think $20-30 is bad wait until you’re 30/40 playing big boy fantasy where the league buy ins are $100+.
5. Offseason Period:
For the sake of further solidifying the offseason schedule, I would like to enact an “offseason transaction period.” This period would run from the immediate end of the championship until July 1st. During this time, players on your roster can be traded to other teams for potential keepers, picks, etc. Players who are not on a team during the offseason cannot be added to a team via waivers. The waiver wire is CLOSED during the off season. Once this offseason period ends we will move into the next year’s “preseason phase”, rosters will lock and the only trades that can take place will involve draft picks and other non-player assets (such as free agency currency… if adopted).
6. Keeper Rules:
Since we’re officially becoming a keeper league this offseason we must systematically approve the ins and outs of our system. We’ve already decided that players will be kept based on the previous year’s draft position (with a 7th round cap for any FAs or late round picks). Now we need to officially decide how to handle consecutive keepers and keeper clocks
6.1 Consecutive Keepers
Jacob has proposed that we use the previous year’s ADP (average draft position) to set rounds designations for each team’s previous year keeper. This means that once the season ends, I would find the statistic letting me know the average round each player was drafted in all similarly scored leagues worldwide. I would then post the list and data source so each owner would know what round they would sacrifice to retain their keeper for a second straight year. I am in full support of this method because it will allow for consistent application across all rounds of keepers as opposed to a progressive system in which you’d move the keeper round up a round or two each time the player was kept. I also think this will create more balance becuase it keeps an unbeleivable draft steal from snowballing year to year. It also still rewards drafting good value, so if you’d found a gem who is only progressively getting better you can still find a steal value for that player in later year drafts.
Pat Butler has proposed an alternative idea (as is his right as a league member and commissioner), the progressive system. Keepers will move up one round in draft order each year they are kept. If you keep a player in round 5 this year, they can be kept in round 4 next year. The only quirk is that first round keepers stay in the first round (since there is no round to move up to). In his opinion, this places greater emphasis on finding late round gems and FA pickups since they gain significant value in the long run. This also places a bigger value on finding rookie/future studs in value rounds. picking DJ his rookie year would've been a 7th round keeper the next season, providing a 1st round value at a steal price for the owner with enough foresight to take him in year 1.
6.2 Keeper Clocks
One of the most widely implemented rules in keeper leagues is a keeper clock. This is essentially a limit on a number of seasons a player can be kept in a row. I’d like to set the keeper clock at 3, meaning you can draft the player and then keep them twice before losing the ability to keep that player again. If a player is not kept for a season, their clock resets to 0, even if the same owner ends up drafting them. If a player is traded, their keeper clock will not reset. A player being dropped to waivers and claimed by a new team will not reset his keeper clock. The only action that resets a player’s keeper clock is the drafting (not keeping) of that player on the “open draft market” by any team. The real purpose of this is to make keepers more fluid so the same 10 guys don’t stay keepers each year.
7. Last Place Punishments:
Alright so we’re going to make the punishment for last place a multiple part experience
Part 1 is being added by me via LM powers:
They will write a season-in-review haiku about each team for me to post in the offseason part 1 LM Note
Part 2 needs a vote:
The last place team gives up naming rights for their team to the league champion, with the opportunity to reclaim naming rights next season by defeating the defending champion in their head to head matchup/s
Or
The last place team gives up voting rights to a weekly league majority vote, winning back the rights once they have a winning record at any point following week 7.
Proposed Ideas for the rest of the punishment:
(I just want to say, y'all did a good job thinking these up)
1) Re-enact the weirdest moments of the NFL Season (as voted on by the league) in your underwear and make a video of it to be posted in the LM Note.
2) Choreograph and perform an interpretive dance about your last place season, record it for posting in the LM Note.
3) Sing the Star Spangled Banner in the video/phone conference to open the next year's league draft.
4) Take the blazing wing challenge (or a league approved equivalent), record it for posting in the LM Note.
5) Attend a WNBA game and stay for the duration. Snapchat the experience and take a selfie for proof.
6) Eat a 5lb bag of Haribo sugarless gummy bears and document the aftermath.
7) Take the SAT, league champion will choose your essay topic
8) Record themselves performing a song of the league champions singing at karaoke and post the video to Facebook.
9) Record themselves running a 4-beer mile, with one beer downed before each 1/4 mile lap. each beer will be chosen by one of the top 4 league finishers.
8. Waiver System:
Change from Inverse Standing Autodraft to Free Agent Auction Bidding
So, this is definitely the most comprehensive change to be proposed this offseason. As much I could explain it all via text (it would be long though… TWSS). I’ve come to realize from explaining it twice to people with strong fantasy knowledge that the easiest way to explain this change is via video:
TL; DW: Waivers move from a luck based reward for poor play to a skill based competition. Active owners can still make many rosters moves uninhibited.
Now that we’ve covered all these, it’s time to vote. If you are unsure about any of these rule changes, please contact me so I may explain them. If you would like to lobby one way or another… the Group Message and DMs are open.
Vote or Die (no seriously, I try to give y’all a say in this so please vote and vote soon before Pat and I move to a dictatorial system):
Pre Season At A Glance
There’s one last major matter we need to attend to, selecting our 2017 draft date. The only rule I will ever strictly enforce for this is that we wait until after week 3 (preferably 4) of the pre-season to draft. The only thing worse than losing a player you’ve drafted to injury in a preseason game is listening to that owner whine about how unfair it is. We will always wait to draft until after all the major players for the upcoming season have finished their preseason games because it is entirely under our control to avoid such a situation. We are going to select our draft date through doodle, once again. We did this last year, so you should know how it works, but essentially you go through all the dates and for each one select your level of availability. I know some of you try to be smart and list not whether you’re available but rather whether you want to be available… This strategy will not work. It is usually easy to tell when “I can’t” actually means “I can but I don’t want to.” If you only put 1 available date, but the rest of the league reaches a consensus to draft on a different date… guess who is getting screwed…. Sorrey. The needs of the many outweigh the whims of the few. Keep that in mind and use the “if need be” option accordingly.
Additionally, we will very likely be using ClickyDraft for this year’s live draft. This app is entirely free for you guys to use, you simply need to go to the League Draft URL (which I will provide at the proper time) make a simple account and then be on the website at the agreed upon draft time. This will work just like the ESPN with a few exceptions. 1) it's way more user-friendly, 2) it allows Pat and me to easily enact our custom keeper settings and 3) you can use it on your smart phone if you’re on the go at the time of the draft. Feel free to google it and find out more.
Here is the doodle poll for selecting a draft date:
As a reminder, you can see the draft order in the first offseason LM note or the League Drafts Page
Thank you for sticking with me during these dark days… Please take the time to go over these changes and send back your input (read: vote) so we can quickly process the results. Hope you enjoyed some Game of Thrones action. The season will be just as intense. See you in August/September for our draft.
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